Apparently this was big news in Finland. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/09/08/050233/finnish-bureaucracy-takes-issue-with-crowdfunded-textbook

"Senja Larsen, who runs popular Facebook study group Senja teaches you Swedish, collected $14,161 via Kickstarter's crowd funding service. The project caught much media attention in Finland (TV and all major newspapers), since it is the first crowdfunded book project in this country, and among the first Finnish crowdfunded projects. (Previous ones include the movie Iron Sky, the role-playing game Myrskyn Sankarit, and the Wishbone headphone wire manager). Now, after successfully collecting the funds for the book (and after the book has been edited and printed), the National Police Board of Finland has asked Senja to submit a statement [PDF; Finnish] concerning using crowdfunding to finance a project [PDF; Finnish] and the terminology used. It is possible that all the funding collected must be returned. The main problem is that direct translations of terminology at Kickstarter, such as 'bounty' and 'support,' are interpreted to mean collecting money without giving anything back, and this kind of operation requires a permit which can be only given to associations, not to private persons, and it takes long to apply for such permit."

How is this much different than Hendrik, a Finnish resident? Well, actually I would imagine that donors of Senja Larsen would have actually received what they paid for.

I did not contribute to Hendrik's Kickstarter project, but if I did I would be accusing him of theft right about now. "Funding ended: Jul 31, 2011" That's long enough to figure out how to use his nice expensive HD camera bought with Kickstarter funds.

I think the "crime" was committed is the US. It was funded via Devon Montgonery through a US funding source, then the money was sent by Devon to Hendrik. Sounds like Devon did this in good faith and should not be criticized.

Is kickstarter actually making a purchase? I always saw it as an investment in something and not a guarenteed return. It isnt like ordering something from amazon, there is risk involved. It could be that the entire budget has been spent and their isnt any money left for filming. If that were the case and the money was spent honestly I wouldnt say that their is any theft going on. People made an investment and that investment didnt turn out. The level of risk is why it is funded on kickstarter and not from a bank.

We have to be smart buyers. If you fund a Kickstarter project and expect to get a product or service, it is buyer beware. Remember the Backcountry Boiler? Devon delivered, but was way behind schedule. A lot of these projects are by people with little business experience, and they get in over their heads. If they knew what they were doing (good product, business experience, etc.) they would not need Kickstarter, they could go through regular product development. Of course with anything in life, there are exceptions.